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A: Di^AMA IN -Five A 



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Founded on the Eleventh Chapter of Judges. 



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^?/ tyc^iu. S/aiCua ^.xliat'eii. 



7 



^•ofessor of 'Hhetoric and former jpyofessor of I,atin and Selles-Letires , 
in Mary Sharp CoUege, IVinchesier, Tenn. 



tSiOUTK-WKSTEKN |gmBLISKING HoUSE. 

1867. 

L 



28997 



18^9 



^0 TKie H^UPILS 



OF THE 



I, 



f^ 



®^^S ilarp ')§0lli0f, 



UWi whom I have spent inany of the pleasantest 
hours of my life, 

This Little Work 
Is m©st affi©etl®aat©lf lnsera©4. 

May they he stimulated to all 

deeds worthy of Woman; then will each he 

worthy of self and her 

icLMA ^ATEK. 



f 



REFACE. 




ROM my earliest girlhood, the his- 
tory of Jephthah's Daughter, told 
as it is in so few words, and yet those few 
beautifully revealing to us a charadier 
perfed: in its simplicity, and uniting, 
without the slightest ostentation, every 
element of feminine excellence, has had 
a peculiar charm for me. 

The coolest courage, the most un- 

(5) 



6 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



daunted heroism, the loftiest patriotism, 
consummated in the extremest adl of 
self-sacrifice humanity can perform, were 
all present in her ready concurrence in 
her father's dreadful vow; and yet the 
simple Israelitish maiden seems to have 
thought only of filial obedience and 
right. 

And the stern majesty of Jephthah, 
outcast and insulted; feeling keenly the 
wrongs he suffered, yet, by his determi- 
nation and energy, aided by the blessing 
of the God he served, patiently working 
out a reputation which finally triumphed, 
and brought him the honor for which 
he toiled so long and faithfully, has been 
a favorite subject for study. 



PREFACE. 



7 



The master-passion of his nature I 
have made pride; fostered by the un- 
fortunate circumstances of his Hfe, and 
which, from his feeHng his own worthi- 
ness, made him esteem himself just in 
proportion to the disesteem, or contempt 
of others; and which, so long as it led 
only to a just appreciation of himself, 
was right; but in excess became a wrong, 
as spoken by Telah, in scene first: 

What was 
Humility and faith at first. 
May grow into self-confidence 
And pride; and right, pursued too far 
Or with unholy motive, grow 
Into a wrong, — 

inculcating the dodrine that all vices 
are but excesses of some virtue. 



O JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

If I have preserved the unity of my 
plot and exhibited the character of Jeph- 
thah throughout, as it naturally w^ould 
exhibit itself under the influence of this 
predominant passion, I have accom- 
plished all I expeded. 

Mary Sharp College, ^ 

Winchester, Tenn., V 

May I, 1867. J 






r >^ 



ISTORY. 



/ 




ND after Abimelech there arose 
to defend Israel, Tola, the son of 
Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issa- 
char; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount 
Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty 
and three years, and died, and was 
buried in Shamir. 

And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, 
and judged Israel twenty and two years. 
And he had thirty sons that rode on 
thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, 
which are called Havoth-jair unto this 

(9) 



10 HISTORY. 

day, which are in the land of Gilead. 
And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. 
And the children of Israel did evil ao;ain 
in the sight of the Lord, and served 
Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of 
Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the 
gods of Moab, and the gods of the chil- 
dren of Amnion, and the gods of the 
Philistines, and forsook the Lord, and 
served not him. 

And the anger of the Lord was hot 
against Israel, and he sold them into the 
hands of the Philistines, and into the 
hands of the children of Ammon. And 
that year they vexed and oppressed the 
children of Israel eighteen years, all the 
children of Israel that were on the other 
side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, 
which is in Gilead. Moreover, the chil- 



HISTORY. 11 



dren of Ammon passed over Jordan, to 
fight also against Judah, and against Ben- 
jamin, and against the house of Ephraim; 
so that Israel was sore distressed. 

And the children of Israel cried unto 
the Lord, saying, We have sinned against 
thee, both because we have forsaken our 
God, and also served Baalim. And the 
Lord said unto the children of Israel, 
Did not- 1 deliver you from the Egyp- 
tians, and from the Amorites, from the 
children of Ammon, and from the Phil- 
istines? The Zidonians also, and the 
Amalekites, and the Maonites, did op- 
press you; and ye cried to me, and I 
delivered you out of their hand. Yet 
ye have forsaken me, and served other 
gods: wherefore I will deliver you no 
more. Go and cry unto the gods which 



12 HISTORY. 

ye have chosen; let them deliver you 
in the time of your tribulation. 

And the children of Israel said unto 
the Lord, We have sinned: do thou 
unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto 
thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this 
day. And they put away the strange 
gods from among them, and served the 
Lord: and his soul was grieved for the 
misery of Israel. Then the children of 
Ammon were gathered together, and 
encamped in Gilead. And the children 
of Israel assembled themselves together, 
and encamped in Mizpeh. And the 
people and princes of Gilead said one 
to another. What man is he that will 
begin to fight against the children of 
Ammon? he shall be head over all the 
inhabitants of Gilead. 



HISTORY. 13 

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a 
mighty man of valor, and he was the 
son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jeph- 
thah. And Gilead's wife bare him sons; 
and his wife's sons grew up, and they 
thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, 
Thou shalt not inherit in our father's 
house; for thou art the son of a strange 
woman. Then Jephthah fled from his 
brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob : 
and there were gathered vain men to 
Jephthah, and went out with him. 

And it came to pass in process of time, 
that the children of Ammon made war 
against Israel. And it was so, that when 
the children of Ammon made war against 
Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch 
jephthah out of the land of Tob: And 
they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be 



14 HISTORY 

our captain, that we may fight with the 
children of Ammon. And Jephthah 
said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not 
ye hate me, and expel me out of my 
father's house? and why are ye come 
unto me now when ye are in distress? 
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jeph- 
thah, Therefore we turn again to thee 
now, that thou mayest go with us, and 
fight against the children of Ammon, 
and be our head over all the inhabitants 
of Gilead. And Jephthah said unto the 
elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home 
again to fight against the children of 
Ammon, and the Lord deliver them 
before me, shall I be your head? And 
the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, 
The Lord be a witness between us, if 
we do not so according to thy words. 



HISTORY. 



5 



Then Jephthah went with the elders of 
Gilead, and the people made him head 
and captain over them: and Jephthah 
uttered all his words before the Lord in 
Mizpeh. 

And Jephthah sent messengers unto 
the king of the children of Ammon, 
saying, What hast thou to do with me, 
that thou art come against me to fight 
in my land? And the king of the 
children of Ammon answered unto the 
messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel 
took away my land, when they .came up 
out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto 
Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now there- 
fore restore those lands again peaceably. 
And Jephthah sent messengers again 
unto the king of the children of Am- 
mon; and said unto him. Thus saith 



HISTORY. 



Jephthah, Israel took not away the land 
of Moab, nor the land of the children 
of Ammon: but when Israel came up 
from Egypt, and walked through the 
wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came 
to Kadesh; then Israel sent messengers 
unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, 
I pray thee, pass through thy land: but 
the king of Edom would not hearken 
thereto. And in like manner they sent 
unto the king of Moab; but he would 
not consent. And Israel abode in Ka- 
desh. Then they went along through 
the wilderness, and compassed the land 
of Edom, and the land of Moab, and 
came by the east side of the land of 
Moab, and pitched on the other side of 
Arnon, but came not within the border 
of Moab: for Arnon was the border of 



HISTORY. 



7 



Moab. And Israel sent messengers unto 
Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king 
of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, 
Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy 
land unto my place. But Sihon trusted 
not Israel to pass through his coast: but 
Sihon gathered all his people together, 
and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against 
Israel. And the Lord God of Israel 
delivered Sihon and all his people into 
the hand of Israel, and they smote them : 
so Israel possessed all the land of the 
Amorites, the inhabitants of that coun- 
try. And they possessed all the coasts 
of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto 
Jabbok, and from the wilderness even 
unto Jordan. So now the Lord God 
of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites 
from before his people Israel, and 



l8 HISTORY. 

shouldest thou possess it ? Wilt not 
thou possess that which Chemosh thy 
god giveth thee to possess? So whom- 
soever the Lord our God shall drive out 
from before us, them will we possess. 
And now art thou any thing better than 
Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab ? 
did he ever strive against Israel, or did 
he ever fight against them, while Israel 
dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and 
in Aroer and her towns, and in all the 
cities that be along by the coasts of 
Arnon, three hundred years? why there- 
fore did ye not recover them within that 
time? Wherefore I have not sinned 
against thee, but thou doest me wrong 
to war against me: the Lord the Judge 
be judge this day between the children 
of Israel and the children of Ammon. 



HISTORY. 19 

Howbeit the king of the children of 
Ammon hearkened not unto the words 
of Jephthah which he sent him. 

Then the Spirit of the Lord came 
upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gil- 
ead, and Manasseh, and passed over 
Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of 
Gilead he passed over unto the children 
of Ammon. And Jephthah vowed a 
vow unto the Lord, and said. If thou 
shalt without fail deliver the children 
of Ammon into my hands, then it shall 
be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the 
doors of my house to meet me, when I 
return in peace from the children of 
Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and 
I will offer it up for a burnt-offering. 

So Jephthah passed over unto the 
children of Ammon to fight .against 



20 HISTORY. 

them; and the Lord deHvered them 
into his hands. And he smote them 
from Aroer even till thou come to Min- 
nith, even twenty cities, and unto the 
plain of the vineyards, with a very great 
slaughter. Thus the children of Am- 
nion were subdued before the children 
of Israel. 

And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto 
his house, and behold, his daughter came 
out to meet him with timbrels and with 
dances: and she was his only child; 
besides her he had neither son nor 
daughter. And it came to pass, when 
he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and 
said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast 
brought me very low, and thou art one 
of them that trouble me: for I have 
opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I 



HISTORY. 21 

can not go back. And she said unto 
him, My father, if thou hast opened 
thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me 
according to that which hath pro- 
ceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch 
as the Lord hath taken vengeance for 
thee of thine enemies, even of the 
children of Ammon. And she said 
unto her father. Let this thing be done 
for me: let me alone two months, 
that I may go up and down upon the 
mountains, and bewail my virginity, I 
and my fellows. And he said, Go. And 
he sent her away for two months: and 
she went with her companions, and be- 
wailed her virginity upon the mount- 
ains. And it came to pass at the end 
of two months, that she returned unto 
her father, who did with her according 



22 HISTORY. 



to his vow which he had vowed: and 
she knew no man. And it was a cus- 
tom in Israel, that the daughters of 
Israel went yearly to lament the daugh- 
ter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days 
in a year. 



Characters in Jephthah's Daughter. 



J E p HT H AH — The Gileadite, 

Telah — His wife, 

Adah — His daughter, 

Eber — Betrothed of Adah, 

MicAH — First captain of the guard, 

Hezron — Officer in charge of sick and 

wounded, 
Miriam — Servant maid. 

Men of Gilead, 
Followers of fephthah. 
Musicians^ attendants^ and chorus 
of young girls ^ in scene fifth. 



tJEPHTHAH'S 

— ." rn^ "i 



D 



AUGHTER. 



$tmt fmt. 



Time, inorjiing—a room in Jephthah's house in Miz- 
peh—Jeplithali and Telali alone. 

TELAK. 

GoEST thou forth upon the hills 

To-day ? I would thou stayed'st at home. 

Rumors there are of yet a war 

With Ammon and the Israelites, 

And much I fear some danger may 

Beset the path thou tread'st. These deeds 

Of violence, and blood, and strife. 

Suit not a woman's heart. Jephthah, 

Stay here, I shall be happier. 

3 (25) 



2b JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

JEPMTKAK. 

'Tis ever thus with all thy sex, 
When glory beckons onward, then 
Would they, timid and shrinking, fain 
Forego the honor, for the fear. 

TELAK. 

Nay, Jephthah, nay, not so; at least, 
Not altogether so. Thou know'st 
In times of danger, woman may. 
Nerved by her love for those most dear, 
Be cool, and prompt, and ready, and 
Unflinching as a man; her mind 
As firm as his; her courage strong. 
And deathless even. But is 't not this? 
Blood-glory hath no lure to tempt 
A woman's heart. In that^ she sees 
Not the best good to those she loves. 
Nor yet the human race. Thus hath 
It been from the beginning, even; 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 2^ 



Woman opposed to violence 

And blood. Ma?i slays and woman 

mourns, 
I'd fain persuade thee, Jephthah, from 
This life of danger, toil and fear, 
To quieter pursuits. 

JEPHTKAK. 

T do 

Not bid thee, Telah, call thy maids, 
And to thy loom and distaff, and 
Thy 'broidery frames, as many a man 
Might do. Attentively, I list 
To all thou say'st, for pleasant is 
Thy counsel ever unto me. 
And all thy words of interest 
Are sweet. Much do I owe to thee. 
In that I've brought thee from thy friends, 
And country, and thy kin, to this 



20 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Strange desert land, and linked so close 
Thy tender lovingness to my 
Rough ways. Too much of my lone life 
Thou'st cheered for me to turn away, 
Unheeding aught that thou would'st say. 
Fear not this strife of Ammon and 
The Israelites. I have no part 
In it. 'Tis true that Ammon hath 
Encroached still farther now. His host 
Hath camped in Gilead; so 'tis said. 
In Mizpeh's streets — a rumor brought 
The tidings yester-even — and yet 
Thou know'stjthat tho'my brethren and 
All kindred of my tribe dwell there, 
/ have no part among them, and 
T'heir quarrel is not mine. Yet tho' 
Cast out, an alien from my tribe. 
Can we not be as happy here. 
As \{ we dwelt in Gilead? Thou 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 2C) 



And our sweet child, our Adah, dark- 
Eyed dove, are treasures quite enough 
For me, joined with the favor of 
Jehovah. He hath prospered me. 
And all to which I've put my hands. 
And spread my name abroad. 'Tis proof 
That He,w^hom I have served, hath work 
For me to do. 'Twas thus oi old 
He prospered those He set apart 
For great and worthy deeds. Thou dost 
Not shrink from duty, Telah, nor 
Would have me turn my back, when He 
Appoints the way? 

TELAK. 

Thou needest not 
To ask — and yet, I would we dwelt 
At peace with Gilead and thy kin. 
If they but knew thee as thou art, 



3 



O JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



They would admire and love, instead 

Of hating, and would bring thee home 

Again. My heart is sad whene'er 

I think of this estrangement, for 

A woman's nature yearns for love. 

And kindness from all those whom blood 

And duty make akin to her. 

So much, too, it affedleth t/iee^ I grieve. 

For it hath warped thy mind, I fear 

Ofttimes, and made thee jealous, and 

Suspicious ot thy kind: caused thee 

To set too high an estimate 

Upon men's thoughts of thee. What was 

Humility and faith, at first, 

May grow into j^^confidence 

And pride; and right, pursued too far, 

Or with unholy motive, grow 

Into a wrong. That thus it is 

With thee, I know notj yet sometimes 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



3' 



I fear. There is no sin^ thou know'st, 

Jehovah winketh at, and least 

In those, by whom he manifests 

His power. Jephthah, turn not away. 

Wrong, in exalted privilege. 

With signal punishment, our God 

Hath ever visited. 

JEPKTKAK. 

Thou read'st 
My secret thoughts, and canst not much 
Esteem him whom thou hast divined 
So well. 

TELAH. 

Because I do esteem 
aS^i^ much — because T think so well 
Of Jephthah — that my fine gold is 
So pure, is why I'd have no b?^eath 
Oi taint upon it, and no speck 



3 



2 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



Oi rust corrode, 

'T is why I tell him all my mind, 
How that I fear, sometimes, it may 
Be needlessly, his mind is warped; 
Jehovah's favor is not all 
His heart desires; that he, too much, 
Cares for his fellow-men's esteem. 
And the world's honor. 'T is because 
I love, I fear. Love, as thou know'st 
Is anxious; hath a watchful heart, 
A vigilant eye, and, for the loved 
One, feels a coming evil, oft. 
Ere it arrives. 

(Enter an attendant, announcing guests.) 
ATTENDANT. 

Some Gileadites are come, who crave 
An audience of Jephthah. Shall 
I bring them here? 




Intervievo with Jephthah, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



33 



ji:pktkak. 
Aye, bring them here. 

TELAK. 

I will retire. (She goes.) 

JEPKTKAK. (Aside.) 

What can they want 
Of Jephthah? All these many years, 
Have I dwelt here unsought, uncared 
For, and despised. Why seek me now? 

(Enter Gileadites.) 

Why come ye, men of Gilead, 
This day, to me? Do ye not know 
That Jephthah hath no part among 
His father's sons? What errand is't 
That brings ye here ? 

GILKADITES. 

We come to tell 

Thee of our sore distress. Thou know'st 
3 



Q4 xIEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

How all the tribes of Israel, for 

These many years, have suffered: how 

Jair, the Gileadite, was Judge, 

And, dying, slept in Camon: how 

Th' Israelites turned to strange gods, 

Ashtaroth, and Baalim, and 

The gods of Zidon, and the gods 

Of Syria, of Moab, and 

The Philistines, and of the sons 

Of Ammon, too, and did forsake 

Jehovah, and no longer serve 

Him. Then his anger wax-ed hot 

Against his people, and he sold 

Them into the Philistines' hands 

For eighteen years — all Israel that 

Was in the land of Gilead and 

The Amorite. And now they've crossed 

The Jordan — those bold Ammonites 

To take their lands from Judah, and 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. o^ 



From Benjamin, and from the house 
Of Ephraim. We are sore distressed, 

JZPHTKAK. 

It is an ancient crime, to turn 
Away from worshiping the true 
And Hving God, and to bow down 
To idols. Ye know that, all their days, 
Hath Israel done this thing, since first 
The golden calf was made within 
The wilderness of Sin, and all 
The people bowed them down to it. 
Grievous it is, and grievously 
The Lord hath ever punished it. 

GILXADITES. 

We know: we know Israel hath sinned; 

But now unto Jehovah, God, 

We've turned, confessing we have sinned, 



36 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



In that we've turned away from Him, 
And served Baalim, 

JEPKTKAK. 

And He bade 
Ye call upon the gods, whom ye 
Have chosen, to deliver you! 
'T was just. 

GILKADITES. 

And then we cried again, and turned 
Away from heathen gods, and with 
Clean hearts did serve the Lord, and we 
Besought him He would do what seemed 
Him good, but to deliver us from 
Our enemy, but this one time. 
And now we know He pitieth 
The wretchedness of Israel. 
The Ammonitish host, e'en now, 
A multitude, are gathered and 



xIEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. ^J 



Encamped in Gilead, and we 

Th' Israelites, assembled are, 

Scarce twenty bow-shots from thy home 

In Mizpeh. 

JEPHTKAH. 

Why are ye come here, 
To tell these things to me? Long have 
I known what hath befallen them — 
Israel and Gilead. What is't 
To me? Ye know I have no part 
In Gilead. My brethren drove 
Me out, and said, *'Thou shalt have no 
Inheritance with us." They could 
Not take Jehovah's favor, else 
Would they have that deprived me of. 
But He hath prospered me and I 
Have tried to serve Him. VaUant men 
Have gathered to me, and the tribes 



40 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 
GILEABITES. 

Therefore*— thou sayest— it is 
Because we wronged thee, and did do 
That very thing. Therefore we turn 
Again to thee, and pray thee to 
Go with us and to fight the hosts 
Of Ammon; then to take thy place 
In Gilead's house, and be our head 
Over all the men of Gilead. 
Thou wilt not, Jephthah, be more just 
Than God ? we turned to Hbn and He 
Hath pitied us. 

JEPHTHAH. 

And if ye bring 
Me home again, to fight for you, 

* It would seem not unlikely, from the reply of 
the men of Gilead to Jephthah's question, and the 
manner of his asking it, that some of his brethren 
were among them. — Judges xi: 7, 8. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 41 

Against the hosts of Ammon, and 
If God, through me, deUver ye 
From out their hand, surely shall I 
Then be your head in Gilead? 

GILEADITES. 

God be a witness between thee 
And us, if we do not, even 
According to thy words. 

JEPHTKAK. 

Then will 
I send my messengers, this day 
Unto th' Ammonitish king. 
Saying, "And what hast thou to do 
With me, that thou art come against 
Me now, to take away my land? 
When Israel wandering, came up out 
Of Egypt through the desert, then 
They asked of Sihon, king of all 



42 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

The Amorites, saying, ^Let us pass, 
We pray thee, through thy land unto 
Our place.' But he then gathered up 
His men, and fought all Israel, and 
The God of Israel gave Sihon' 
And all his people unto them^ 
The host of his own Israelites. 
So they possessed the lands of all 
Those Amorites, from Arnon even 
Unto Jabbok's hill, and to the flood 
Oi Jordan, from the wilderness. 
Take thou the land which Chemosh,//^/;^^ 
Own godj hath given thee to possess, 
And thus will we possess even whom 
The Lordj our God^ shall drive out from 
Before our face. While Israel dwelt 
In Heshbon, and her towns, and in 
Aroer and her villages, 
And in the cities, which grew up 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



43 



Along the shores of Arnon for 
Three hundred years, why did ye not 
Recover them in all that time ? 
I have not trespassed thus on thee. 
Thou doest wrong to war against 
Me now. The Lord, the Judge, be Judge 
This day between the children of 
His Israel and the Ammonites." 
Thus will I say to him, and send 
This day by some sure messenger. 
Then, peradventure, if the Lord 
Deliver Israel by my hand, 
I shall be head in Gilead. 
I'll be with ye anon. (EmU GUeadUes.) 

(Soliloquizing.) There's a 
Strong tie in blood. Affedion may 
Be warm, and true, e'en unto death, 
But the affinity of blood 



44 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Is something different. Friendship 

speaks 
Sentiments of variance 
With zeal, and warmth, and earnestness. 
And blame, but is not friendship as 
Before. The bond will break, and what 
Remains is hollow mockery 
Of seeming only, and no more. 
Friendship mounts guard; observes the 

rules. 
The courtesies, civilities 
Conventionalities of life. 
But blood hath confidence in the 
Born tie that holds together all, 
And can dispense with forms. 
Friendship ash favors; blood demands^ 
And feels it hath a right. Friendship 
Aggrieved, can scarce converse about 
A wrong, but weightier grows th' offense. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER, 4^ 

And wider is the breach than 'twas 

At first; and confidence again 

Returneth, never as before. 

'Tis not in nature thus to be. 

But blood grows hot and leaps its bounds, 

And says hard words, and doeth wrong, 

E'en grievous wrong, but when the heat 

Of anger cools, and sorrow comes 

To him who said the words, and did 

The wrong, blood helpeth to forget. 

And to forget is to forgive. 

I know not yet, if/ forgive; 

I know I've not forgotten, for 

The sting is here of all the taunts. 

And scorn, and wrong of earlier years. 

Yet sweet the triumph of the hour. 

And sweeter 'twill be, when I am 

Deliverer of Israel, 

And head of Gilead. I feel 



46 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER, 



The power struggling within me, and 
My confidence unshaken that 
Jehovah's might will manifest 
Itself in me, and Ammon shall 
Be driven from all the lands he hath 
Usurped. Hear me, O! Lord, thou God 
Of Israel, if, without fail. 
Thou shalt deliver to my hands 
The hosts of Ammon, then it shall 
Be, that whatever cometh forth 
From out the doors of mine own house 
To meet me, when, victorious, I 
Return in peace, a conqueror of 
The Ammonites, shall surely be 
The Lord's, and / will offer it 
To Him for a burnt-offering. 



i|ND or IS^CENZ XllKST. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 4] 



$ttnt jSpronb. 



JephtJuih sitting in the door of his tent, after the 
Ammonites are suhdued, his face buried in his 
hands. 

JEPMTMAK. 

(He rises and walks, soliloquizing.) 

'Tis over now, the victory is fairly won; 

Victory, to me, in senses more than one. 

Jehovah nerved this arm. An Ammon- 
ite 

No vantage hath to fight an Israehte. 

Baal - berith's strength, Baal - berith's 
mighty power, 

Fail, ere the cloud-drops dry upon the 
flower, 



48 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

And scattered thousands, on the blood- 
stained earth, 

Embrace the soil that gave them first 
their birth. 

E'en twenty cities more are Israel's own, 

And through them Jephthah's name is 
proudly known; 

That name once hated and cast out of 
men. 

Who now entreat e'en Jephthah back 
again. 

Oh ! for this hour have 1 toiled and 
prayed. 

And offerings on Jehovah's altar laid. 

This hour, in fancy, have I thought so 
sweet. 

None other could at all compare with it; 

The crowning moment of dull strug- 
gling years, 




Rattle Scene. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



49 



The hope made certain from the depth 

of fears. 
'T is come at last, tho' tardily. No more 
An outcast, I may seek my father's door, 
Enter and be his child again; yea, claim 
My birthright, as the eldest of his name. 
Thanks to Jehovah ! praise and glory be 
To Him who gave such joyful vidory. 

(Enter EberJ 
]GB]GH. 

Methought I heard thy signal calHng me, 
My leader's summons should not be in 
vain. 

JEPHTKAK. 

I did not call, yet art thou welcome 

here. 

Is all prepared for our departure, when 

The sun is risen in the east? 
4 



5° 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



XBEK. 

All is prepared. 

JEPKTKAH. 

I am impatient now the conflid: 's past. 

Aroer, Minnith, and the towns between, 

E'en twenty cities of the Ammonites, 

Subdued, the country wrested from the 
foe, 

The plain of vineyards bounds our con- 
quests now. 

And Ammon Israel need no longer fear. 

All 's done which I have come to do, 
and now 

The land of Tob recalls my panting 
breast. 

And weary limbs to rest them there, 
awhile, [smile 

And two sweet faces I would fain see 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



5' 



In loving fondness as I come again. 
Thou 'rt ready, Eber? 

Ready! yes, my sire. 
Pardon my boldness that I dare recall 
Thy promise of the bliss that should be 

mine 
When this foray was over, won by 

thee. 
Surely thou canst not think I'd linger 

here! 
My thoughts will far outstrip the stately 

march 
My feet must keep among thy cooler 

hosts 
That have no promised bride to greet, 
When Mizpeh opens to their coming 

sight. 



5^ 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



I would we went to-night, and need 

not wait 
The op'ning day. 

JEPHTKAH. 

Ah! youth is ever thus, 
Impatient of a short delay. It is a stern, 
Hard lesson, man must learn, to bide 

his time. 
Nor strive to hasten what betideth him. 
'Twill come, at last, be 't good or ill, 

and thou 
Wilt find many events thou 'dst fain 

delay; 
While there are others, that we wait so 

long, 
So anxiously, and with such feverish 

thought [while 

Boding, and brooding; hoping, fearing, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



53 



The heart, sick with its own impatience, 

feeds 
Upon itself, and eats its own core out. 
Ere the desire 's accompHshed. Such, 

have I 
Felt in the long and dreary years gone 

by, 

My son — for gladly shall I call thee so, 
I have none other; thou and she are all — 
These heart-sick feelings may'st thou 

never know; 
Nor canst thou, for thy lot will not be 

mine. 
Brave, cherished scion of a noble line. 

Pardon my far presuming, if I ask 
Hath Jephthah's name not been an 
honored one, 



^4 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Famed, among Gilead's hills, for valor 
and 

Such wisdom as a leader well becomes? 

Did not men gather to his standard, and 

Did he not then instrudl, reform and 
prove, 

Not leader only, but their benefactor, 
too? 

Tamino; their fierce hearts to a calm 
control. 

Making them better, happier than be- 
fore? 

Hath not the poor blessed Jephthah, as 
he passed. 

And orphans' tears, and widows' grate- 
ful prayers. 

Have they not, too, been offered up for 
thee? 

And now, to thine inheritance restored, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



55 



Leader of Gilead's submissive hosts, 
Thou^ surCj art satisfied! 

JKPHTKAK. 

Yea, satisfied. 
It is for this I 've toiled and planned so 

long. 
E'en from that hour of causeless wrong, 

when they 
Did say to Jephthah, in his father's house, 
And he, that father, said not one faint 

"Nay," 
"Begone!" * * * * 

My heart hath nourished, in its secret 

core. 
Those taunting words, those gestures of 

contempt. 
Those haughty looks, when bent their 

brows on me, 



56 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



In bitter, biting scorn. Thou know'st 

'not what 
It is to feel one's self derided, mocked. 
Jeered at with insult, hatred, foulest 

wrong; 
To bear gibes, sneers, and looks askant, 

that say 
"Thou 'rt made of meaner, dirtier clay 

than we;" 
While he that should protect thee with 

an arm 
Of power, stands silently and coldly by. 
And not a glance of kindness warms his 

eye. 
I hate the memory of those torturing 

years, 
When oft with wild desire yet feeble hope 
I sought for kindly oiEces, yea, menial 

ones. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



57 



E'en abject servitude, if by it I might 

gain 
But one approving glance, humbling 

myself 
E'en to the very dust, and yet repelled 
As some loathed and degraded objed, 

when 
My soul was full of lofty thoughts, and 

full 
And free forgiveness, melting love and 

joy 
In my great, overmastering desire 
To be beloved; or less, kindly endured. 
O! Eber, I have borne all this, and 

more; 
And, in stern silence, nursed such bitter 

wrongs 
As would have made me desperate, 

wert not 



3' 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



For those most precious ones, my wife 
and child; 

And for the confidence my time would 
come, 

'Tis not what men may say of us that 
makes 

Us vile: 'tis what we do. The wrong 
must be 

Within ourselves; lives out of sight oft- 
times, 

And like the fruit of Sodom's apple, fair 

And good to outward view, the foul, 
black heart 

Hath but the dust and ashes of deceit 

Within. 

(Enter Micah, first Captain of the Guard, ivith a 
respectful salute to Jephtliah.) 

MICAK. 

What disposition wilt thou that we make 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. ^C) 

Of all the prisoners to-night? Our band 
Is small, thou know'st. 

JEPHTMAK. 

See to 't they be secure. 
Let a strid: watch be set of one in ten; 
Fewer might be unsafe: and let none 

sleep 
Upon his post. Our band is small, be 

sure, 
Some less than when we left our homes, 

and yet 
Fewer are gone than we might have 

supposed, 
Thanks to the justice of our cause and 

that 
Great Power that hath proteded us. 

They 're safe — 
Our hostages, the chief men of the foe — 



6 



O JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



The Ammonites ? They must be guard- 
ed with 
Untiring vigilance. 

MICAH. 

Enough, my lord, 
'T is Kadesh hath the charge of them, 

and he 
Will not a whit abate his constant care. 
A desert lion is he to his prey, and none 
Shall plunder it from him. Escape 
Is scarcely possible, when he hath charge. 
His fierce eye never seems in need of 

sleep. 

JEPHTKAH. 

'T is well; L know none I could better 
trust. 

(Turns aiuay.) 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



6i 



EBEK (To Micah.) 

Say, Micah, wilt noi: thou rejoice, when 

this 
One night is over in this bloody land, 
And we turn homeward to the quiet 

shade, 
And pleasant rest of Mizpeh's sheltering 

walls? 

MICAK. 

Why, lad, art not afraid to tarry here? 
Thou did'st use gloriously the bow and 

spear. 
And, for so young a lad, dost promise 

well; [come? 

Yet blenchest thou because the dark has 

Out on thee, Micah ! Nay, ten thousand 
nays. 



6: 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



Blanches my cheek nor at the dark, nor 

blood, 
Though thou dost taunt me with my 

youth 
And fear, a thing unknown to me. Thy 

age 
Protects thee, else should'st thou repent 

thy taunts. 
Surely there is no wrong that I'll rejoice 
To tread once more in Mizpeh's streets. 

My home 

Is there. (Turns and ivalks indignantly away.) 
JEPKTKAK. 

Nay, Eber, curb thy heart of fire : 
Remain. 

MIC AH. (Aside.) 

A hot head truly! I had best take care. 

(vlloud to Jephthah.) 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 6^ 



What preparations for the morning shall 
we make? 

TEPHTKAK. 

None, save to start at rising sun. 
Let a picked company of archers lead 
The way. Next, march the prisoners, 

two and two. 
And spearmen close behind. The 

wounded then, 
In litters take the way, while all the 

rear 
Shall covered and protected be, of right. 
By the most trusty of my veteran band. 

MICAK. 

Thou art determined that our pris'ners 

keep 
Their lives secure? — the Ammonitish 

king 



64 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



And his chief men, by whose advice he 

brought 
This war on Israel ? Is 't well, my lord ? 
Our fathers did not so. The heathen 

they 
Spared not, but slew them, small and 

great. 

JEPKTKAK. 

Micah, thou dost forget thyself, yet for 
Past services, I overlook thy forward- 
ness. 
Thou art a veteran, brave and trusty, 

too. 
And so I tell thee that we war not with 
A fallen foe to practice cruelty. 
These hostages are better for the peace 
Of Gilead than if all their necks were 
merged 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



65 



In one, and severed at a blow. Know'st 

not 
That mercy, oftentimes, availeth more 
Than strid:, nay, even just severity? 
We have not fought as Joshua, at God's 
Command, to drive the heathen from 

the land, 
But to repel encroachment, and when 

they 
Who did the thing, submit, it is enough. 

MICAK. 

Thou dost command our forces by the 
way? 

JEPHTHAK. 

Even so: I lead our brave victorious 

band 
To Mizpeh's gates, and there dismiss 

them to 

5 



66 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



Their homes. But the picked guard I 

leave to march 
With the poor sufferers in this bloody 

fray, 
And our illustrious prisoners will be 
Commanded by this noble youth. (Aside.) 

'Tis time 
He try his powers, if he be worthy of 

the prize 
I've promised him. (To Merj Eber, upon 

the way 
See thou the Ammonitish king, and all, 
Be treated generously, and yet take care 
He be most strictly watched in word 

and deed. 

JEJoJC/\. 

I fear thy captains will not like to be 
Subjected to my orders. One so young 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 6j 



Hath not enough experience to be 
Thus trusted, thus exalted over all 
The brave, tried followers of thy veteran 

band. 
Wilt please thee, name some other one? 

MICAK. (Aside.) 

Beshrew 
Me, but the lad has sense. If 'twere 

not for 
Such modest airs no step of mine should 

stir, [dawn. 

To do his bidding, at the morrow's 

JEPHTKAH. 

Eber, I will thou take the lead. I '11 

have 
No other one. Look to it, Micah, that 
All yield obedience to him as if 
It were myself Dost hear? 



68 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



MICAK. 

Dost think 
Me deaf? I hear as well as any one. 
I know my duty, too, and shall not fail 
To do it. 

Micah, thou hear'st what 
Jephthah says: [stru6l 

Thou must be privy counsellor, and in- 

Me as to all that I must say and do. 

Then 'twill be well: I have great con- 
fidence 

In thee. 

MICAK, 

I'll do it, lad. Thy judg- 
ment's good. (Aside.) 
I'm quite content. (To jephthah.) Hast any 
more commands? 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



69 



JEPHTKAH. 
Send Hezronhere. (ExUMicah.- enter Hezron.) 

(ToHezron.) The wounded, how 
are they? 

KEZRON 

Some better, and some worse. 

JIEPMTKAK. 

The litters, for 
To-morrow's use, — are they all ready 
now? 

HEZHON 

All are made ready, or will be before 
We sleep. 

JKPHTKAK. 

'T is well. And can all be 
removed? 



7 



O JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



KEZKON. 

All can who live. 

JEPKTKAK. 

Then some are dead 
and some 
Must die ? Who are they, Hezron, who ? 

HZZROK 

Even now 
They pile the earth on Asher's noble 

son, 
And cover Menon*s glorious face. Ke- 

dar's 
Life slowly ebbs away. The arrow 

points, 
The spears, have done their deadly work. 

All else 
Are doing well. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



71 



JEPKTKAK. (Covering his face.) 

Alas! my friends: how dear 
Were they to me. My counsellors are 

gone. 
I would they might have died in Miz- 

peh. Oh! 
'Tis hard to leave them here. 

(He crosses the stage tivo or three times, then says :) 

Our wounded ones — 

Thou 'It see all is prepared to shield 
from pain 

And suffering by the way? Eber has 
charge 

Whene'er 'tis needful for their comfort- 
ing, 

To stay the band till they would fain 
proceed. 



'j2 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

HEZ>\ON 

Thou 'rt mindful, Jephthah, more than 

is thy wont: 
Thou 'st left these things to me before. 

JEPKTHAK. 

So now 
I do, but I am sick of blood. Go now, 
I trust thee, as I ever did. (ToEberj To 

rest: 
A few short hours of calm repose will 

fit 
Us better for to-morrow's toil. 






JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. J^ 



jSrpnp t©l|ipb» 



Time, sunset. A room openiiig upon a halcony facing 
the west. Telah and Adah alone. 

ADAH. 

Mother, hast seen the sky more bright, 
At golden sunset, than to-night? 
See'st thou, how every quivering leaf 
Stands out in delicate relief 
Against the sky beyond, unrolled 
Like some rich curtain's ample fold? 
See, too, my gentle flowers, how they 
Turn round to watch the close of day. 
It seems as if, like me, they Ve power 
T' enjoy the beauty of the hour. 



74 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



There, softly creeping, Arnon's rills 
Wind at the foot of Gilead's hills, 
Twining, like silver threads, around 
The base of each sun-lighted mound. 
Dost thou not love to gaze, like me. 
On all this gorgeous tracery. 
As, gloriously, the weary sun 
Sinks to his rest, when dav is done? 
In such an hour as this, would I, 
Dear mother, lay me down to die; 
Pillow my head, at close of day, 
And pass, with sunset's light, away. 

TELAK. 

Surely it is a glorious sight. 
And much I love its varied light. 
Replete with fondest memory, 
And thoughts of hope and love for 
thee; 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



15 



But now my heart is far away. 
Where is thy father, child, to-day? 
A weight seems pressing on me here — 
I hope the best, yet greatly fear 
That in this conflidl, some strong arm 
May chance to do him serious harm. 

ABAK. 

Oh! mother, let such fears depart, 
They 're but a sickness of the heart, 
Because he's gone so far from home: 
Thou wilt be happier when he 's 

come. 
Jehovah's arm hath power, we know, 
To shield from every deadly blow. 
To Baalim, nor Ashtaroth, we 
Have never learned to bow the knee, 
And Israel's God, in whom we trust, 
Is merciful, as well as just. 



6 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



But why this new and fearful war 
That calls my father off so far ? 
Why at the head of Gilead fight? 
Surely, he 's not a Gileadite? 

TELAK. (As if coTivinibnirig with herself.) 

Yea, formerly he hath been one: — 
Of Gilead, he 's the eldest son. 

ADAH. 

Then why dwell here, dear mother, say, 
From his inheritance away? 
Each Israelitish son hath space 
Allotted for a dwelling-place. 
And why should he forswear his home. 
Within the wilderness to roam? 
The desert land of Tob is not, 
Like Canaan's soil, a favored spot. 
And why did Gilead let him come? 
His first-born son should dwell at home, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. JJ 



To cheer his sire's remaining space 

Of Hfe; then take his place. 

Like fooUsh Esau, he hath not 

His privilege so much forgot 

That he should sell his birthright, and 

Become a stranger in the land 

TELAK. 

He had no birthright. 

ADAK. 

And yet thou 

Didst say, my mother, even now, 
That he was Gilead's first-born son! 

TELAK. 

E'en so. What hath been done is done. 
The wrongs thy father's youth befell, 
Thy grandsire's shame, that I should 
tell. 



j' 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



It fitteth not, at least not now, 
For on that fair and open brow 
Thus early, it were sure to fling 
Too much of sorrow's saddening; 
Nor would I, with harsh memories, 
Make lonelier such hours as these. 

ADAK. 

I '11 try to yield obedience. 

But scarce can drive the feeling hence 

To beg of thee to gratify. 

This once, my curiosity; 

For faint remembrances come o'er 

Th' inquiring mind of scenes of yore: 

Of hard-browed men that gathered 

round. 
With voices threatening in their sound: 
Of fleeing to the wilderness 
To find us, there, a resting-place: — 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



79 



Of Other men, too, one by one, 
Adding to Jephthah's strength their own, 
Till, leader of a mighty clan. 
They called him a most valiant man. 
I 've sometimes thought these things a 

dream — 
For all such memories are dim — 
But once, when in our garden-bower, 
My father spent a lonely hour 
Scanning the ground, with downcast 

eyes, 
I thought to give a glad surprise, 
So stole around, with noiseless step. 
While on the ground his eyes he kept. 
And communed with himself, as if 
His heart was overcharged with grief. 

TELAK. 

But he said nothing, did he? 



>0 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



Yea. 



ADAH. 
TXLAK. 

Thou didst not listen? 



ADAH. 

Surely, nay, 
At least, not meaningly; but T 
Was there, thinking to catch his eye 
Beaming with smiles, land hear him say 
How is my little girl to-day? 
So waiting, there I stood, — 

TXLAK. 

And he 
Talked with himself, and not with thee? 
Thou should'st have come away. 

ADAH. 

I know 
I ought, but did not then. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 6i 

TELAK. 

And so 
Thou heard'st him talk — of what? 

ADAH. 

'Twas of the past he spake: I thought 

He called it dread and bitter past. 

And wished Oblivion might cast 

Her mantle over it, that he 

Might all forget its memory: 

That his was but an outcast's name, 

Born to a heritage of shame; 

Reproaches to endure from those 

Who should be friends, but were his 

foes; 

And that they yet should gladly claim 

Kindred with Jephthah's hated name. 

What more he said I did not hear, 

For, trembling with an unknown fear, 
6 



02 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

I turned away, marveling much 

What dread calamity could touch 

The secret springs that caused to flow 

So bitterly those words of woe. 

I wondered what dark heritage 

Of shame could cloud his manly age; 

If he had wronged his kinsmen, or 

What else his heart was grieving for, 

And yet no injury, I knew. 

To friend or foe, could Jephthah do. 

But who they were that yet should 

claim. 
Gladly, connexion with his name, 
I now can guess. 

TELAK. 

How didst thou learn? 

ADAH. 

Theirs are the faces darkly stern, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



53 



Of those who, in my memory yet 
Remain freshly as if I met 
Them every day. I do, at night, 
Oft see them in my dreams, — the fright 
Wakes me in terror, and I shroud 
My face, and almost weep aloud. 

TELAK. 

I told thee naught. 

ABAK. 

Save thou didst say 
That he was Gilead's son; and they 
Are his younger brethren. Is't not so? 

TKLAK. 

Thou hast conjectured right — and know 
The time, of which he spake, is come: 
Entreatingly called home, by those 
Thou heard'st him mention as his foes, 



84 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

He, even now, their leader, fights 
Against th' encroaching Ammonites. 

ADAH. 

Mother, thy words encourage me; 
Wilt thou not tell me who was she 
That gave him birth? 

TELAK. 

She was no Jew 
Of Jacob's line, but lineage drew 
From outcast Ishmael. The sire 
Of thine saw her and loved. Desire 
Sprung up — no law had made them one, 
And yet the fruit — 

ADAH. 

Was what? 

TELAK. 

A son. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. O^ 



ABAK. 

Long, long have I conjectured this, 
That some such sad remembrances 
Clouded my father's cheerless past, 
And darkness, o'er his future cast; 
Yet scarcely deemed such mark of shame 
Was stamped upon my father's name; 
That God's own courts, to enter in, 
He could not, so defiled with sin. 
Ere this such truth I should have heard: 
Innocently I may have erred. 
But then thou knowest, and canst tell. 
If thou hast conned this matter well. 

TELAK. 

To none, my child, has wrong been 

done. 
And, least of all, to Eslon's son. 
God, in his mercy, gave to us 



86 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

No sons to feel this dreaded curse, 
But one dear child, whose progeny 
From all such stain is counted free. 

ADAH. 

Then will I grieve o'er it no more, 
The past no sorrow can restore. 
But what of her — dear mother, say, 
Hath yet the earth-worm claimed its 

prey ? 
Far better fate than it would be 
To lead such life of misery. 

TXLAK. 

She was forsaken soon and spurned 
By him whose flattering tongue had 

learned 
Her heart to throb with feelings wild 
For one whose passion had beguiled 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



'7 



Her into sin. She sought return 
To her own country, there to mourn, 
Till death should come, the final loss 
Of that to which all else is dross. 
Nor long did she her frailty weep. 
And tearful vigils nightly keep. 
But like those clouds, at close of day, 
Gently and calmly passed away. 
O'er her cold corse fresh flowers they 

strewed. 
And, with their tears, her grave bedewed, 
For she was fair and beautiful 
As roses that we love to cull. 
And like a bud, with canker worn. 
Or from its stem that's rudely torn, 
She faded in her loveliness, 
Yet lives in their remembrances 
Who knewher ere her heart was crushed. 
And its sweet music sadly hushed. 



00 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

ADAK. 

And then my grandsire took a wife ? 

TELAK. 

He did before; and bitter strife 

Was mingled with each household 

word, 
While angry thoughts and feelings 

stirred 
The breasts of those she bare to him, 
And, with success, they strove to dim 
A father's love for his first-born, 
That they, with words of biting scorn. 
Might cast him out. The deed was done, 
The father sanctioned, and the son 
Warned to depart, while tauntingly 
They jeered him with fierce mockery; 
Scoffed at his birth, saying "The son 
Of a strange woman should be gone:" 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 8^ 

Nay, more; with brutal violence 
They thrtcst him out, and drove him 
thence. 

* * * * * * * 

Aye! there are words that tear apart 
The fibers of the crushing heart; 
That stretch its fragile strings so much 
They burst asunder, at a touch; 
That sweep its gentle chords of song 
With floods of grief so wild and 

strong, 
That harsh, discordant sounds alone 
Swell forth, in place of happier tone; 
Yea, that, with master-passion fraught. 
Drive out each sweet and peaceful 

thought. 
Till perish all the flowers of feeling, 
Its naked depths alone revealing. 



90 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



ADAH. 

Mother, they 're past, those dreary years 
Of insult, wrong, and burning tears. 
And now the wronged one, with his calm 
And quiet dignity, like the palm, 
judea's stately emblem, soon will be 
Ruler of Gilead, for victory 
Shall crown his efforts, and all they 
Who mocked at him shall feel his sway; 
His mild and gentle yet decided rule 
That bows the trusting heart and leaves 

it full 
Of meek submission, timid love and awe, 
To find his slightest wish, his look, a 

law. 
How my glad thoughts go springing forth 

to meet 
My precious sire, whose every wish 'tis 

sweet 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. ^ 



For me, at all times, gladly to obey. 
Mother, howlonely 'tis, when he's away; 
The house is desolate, the dusky walls 
Sad echoes whisper, as my footstep falls 
Lightly upon the stone-paved courts 

and I 
Hear solemn wailings in each night-bird's 

cry. 
The bulbul, 'mid the clumps of roses, 

where 
The fountain throws its spray upon the air. 
Weeps mournful plaining at the midnight 

hour 
From out the fragrance of her fav'rite 

bower. 
And my sad heart seems shrouded with 

its own 
Dismal forebodings, when we're thus 

alone. 



9 



2 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



TELAK. 

Cheer thee, my child — patiently hope 

the best, 
The hour is drawing nigh for nightly 

rest. 
Thou 'rt weary and dispirited, sweet 

child, 
And the dark tale, I told thee, hath 

beguiled 
No one of those dark shadows from a 

brow 
Where they Ve too often cast their gl oom, 

ere now. 
Throw them aside, and that thy happy 

dreams 
May be as sunlight on the flashing streams 
Oi fair Judea's soil, thy lute bring here. 
And pour its melody within my ear. 
To charm my boding heart of all its fear. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 0^ 

ADAH. 

Wilt listen, mother, while I sing? 

T£X,AH. 

Ah, yes, 
For ever had thy voice a power to 

bless 
From the first hour its feeble wail was 

heard, 
And all a mother's love my . bosom 

stirred, 
Up to this night of painful solitude. 
When dark'ning shadows drape the fad- 
ing wood, 
And settle gloomily upon my soul. 
Yea, sing; music may yet control 
The fiercely struggling powers as I shall 

hear 
Thy pleasant melodies fall on my ear. 



94 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



(Adah claps her hands and a young girl enters.) 
ADAK. 

Miriam, bring hither now thy lute and 

play 
Thy choicest melodies, to drive our gloom 

away. 
Meanwhile, to thy accompanying, I '11 

sing. 

(Miriam retires for a Dvoment, and, returning, begins 
a prelude on her instrument. Adah sings, Miriam 
accompanying.) 

ADAH AND MIKIAM. 
SONG. 

O! why should hearts be sad 
When there's so much to glad? 
When earth, so bright and fair, 
Should charm our every care? 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



95 



Judea's vales are green, 
Judea's skies, serene, 
Judea's maidens, fair, 
Her sons brave, every-where. 

CHORUS. 

Then let our hearts, to-night. 
Beat high, vi^ith pulses light, 
And glad the fleeting hours 
With music, joy, and flowers. 

SONG. 

Judea's sons will toil 
For honor's goodly spoil, 
And with the bold and free 
Wait glorious destiny. 
Judea's maidens, fair. 
Sustain, with loving care. 
Daughter, sister, and wife. 
The crowning gift of life. 



^6 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



CHORUS. 



Then let our hearts, to-night, 
Beat high, with pulses light, 
And glad the fleeting hours 
With music, love, and flowers. 



ADAH. 



Sadly my voice seemeth to jar 
With all such bright imagining; 

I turn to him, who still afar, 

I 'd fain to this lone circle bring 

SONG. 

Night draweth on and we 're alone 

Within a stranger land. 
We long to see and cling to thee, 

Grasping thy friendly hand; 

Father, come home. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



97 



The sighing breeze sweeps thro' the 
trees 
With such a dreary sound, 
I turn my head to Hst thy tread: 
Thou art not to be found; 

Father, come home. 

The sun's last ray, athwart the way. 
Lengthens the plane-tree's shade. 
While evening's gloom steals thro' the 
room. 
And darkness fills the glade; 

Father, come home. 

The tinkling bells, adown the dells, 

Where browsing camels stray, 
With drowsy chime, recall the time^ 
When thou wert not away; 

Father, come home. 
7 



go JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Sad are our hearts when day departs, 

And twinkhng stars appear, 
With milder Hght, to rule the night, 
. Whispering thou art not here; 

Father, come home. 

(An attendant enters, and, with a low obeisance, 
hands a missive to Telah. She clips the thread and 
reads aloud.) 

"Rejoice with me, my loved ones there, 
The strife is ended. I prepare 
E'en now to take my homeward way, 
Victor in this most mighty fray. 
Aroer, Minnith, twenty cities yield 
To Gilead on the bloody field. 
His arm gave strength, our foes to over- 
come. 
Those Ammonites, and now for joy and 
home!" 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



99 



TELAK. 

Miriam, it is the hour for evening service, 

call 
Our minstrels to come hither, one and 

all. 
To join together in a glorious song 
For all Jehovah's done. To him be- 
long 
Deep gratitude for what His hand hath 

wrought; 
That through a land with danger thickly 

fraught 
He hath preserved the husband, father, 

friend. 
And master: praise to Jehovah without 

end. 

(Miriam retires to execute Telah's commands, and 
Adah resumes her sini^in^.) 



100 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

ADAH. 

His hand kept thee, unscathed and free, 
Through all war's wild alarm. 

And we '11 rejoice, with heart and voice, 
To greet thee, free from harm; 

Father, come home. 

(Musicians enter and arrange themselves, and Telah 
addresses them.) 

TKLAK. (To the musicians.) 

Your boldest, gladdest strains to-night 

will be [and me. 

The most approved by this young maid 

Jephthah, unharmed, in a few days will 

come 
To greet us all within our quiet home, 
For signal victory his arms hath crowned. 
And Gilead gains the wide-spread 
country round; 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 101 

And now, proud Israel's ruler, he, 
From such a conquest, is most sure to be. 

SONG. 

On they came with power and might. 
Like a torrent of the night, 
And they struggled in the fight. 
But Jehovah's mighty hand 
Scattered the presumptuous band, 
And He drove them from the land. 

One voice chanting. — Trust in Jeho- 
vah, for He is mighty, and His mercy 
endureth forever. 

All the efforts made, must fail 
Of the gods, that rule the vale 
Chemosh, Ashtaroth and Baal. 
Of Jehovah's power we tell 
With the victories that befell 
Wandering, chosen Israel. 



102 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Voice chanting, — Trust in Jehovah, Sec. 

Earth must yield her to His nod, 
Princes bow and kiss His rod, 
Heathen nations own Him God, 
Mighty, merciful and just. 
Hurling nations to the dust 
When they cease in Hi?n to trust 

Voice chanting, — Trust in Jehovah, &c. 

Yet the lowliest ever may 
Feel His mighty arm their stay, 
As they travel on their way; 
So, to no vain idol cling, 
But the heart's pure offering 
To Jehovah-jireth bring. 

Voice chanting, — Trust in Jehovah, for 
He is mighty, and His mercy endureth 
forever. 

||n» or la^CENE fGHIKD. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 10' 



jSfpnp J^oupf^* 



Jeplithah, a few followers ivith him, approaching his 
home in Mizpeh. He dismisses them. 

JEPKTKAK. 

Go, now, my tried and trusty followers, 
And as each one shall take his homeward 

way, 
May ye, arrived, in mercy find 't is well 
With those ye left behind. E'en so, with 

me, 
That I find, too, all 's well within the 

walls 
That hold my heart's most precious ones. 

Farewell. 



104 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

(They disappear in different directions, and he 
soliloquizes.) 

Why sinks my heart with such chill 

weight of dread ? 
Why shake my knees, as if no strength 

were left 

If 

In this strong, stalwart frame, as I do 

look 
Upon the sheltering boughs above the 

roof 
Where dwell my treasures all ? My eyes 

are dim; 
They have no power to look at those 

gray walls 
That pen my little fold — the youngling 

and 
Its dam. — Home! sweetest spot of all 

the earth. 
A few more eager steps, and I am there; 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 10^ 

Yet something still those longing steps 
restrains. 

What if she haste to meet me here? — 
or that 

Dear one, my other self? Oh! would 
'twere past 

That I might know the worst, and know- 
ing, fear 

No more. Uncertainty ! how dread the 
thought 

Of what this hand may be compelled 
to do. 

(Music is lieavd, and Adah comes ivith tahrets and 
dances to meet him.) 

'Tis she! 'tis she! My one ewe lamb! 
Oh, this 

Is more than I can bear! Most duti- 
ful 

And loving child of all Judea's maids, 



lo6 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

She comes, with signs of overmastering 

To greet her sire^ who dooms his child 

to death 
In all her virgin innocence! Punished! 
And more, for all my wild ambition 

now. 

(Adah, seeing his ivild, disordered looks and torn 
— --^^ garments, stops.) 

^ ADAH. 

O! Father, speak to me. 

(Jephthah, having covered his face with his hands, 
as if to shut her from his sight, stands motion- 
less.) 

He will not speak, 
He will not look at me! 

JDPKTMAH. 

I can not, for 
My heart is burst with grief. 




Jephthah's I^etiorn. 



V 

JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 107 



ADAH. 

Who speaks of grief, 
Returning from such signal victory? 
Leader of Gilead — 

JEPKTKAK. 

O! name it not — 
Most hateful thought that ever crossed 
my brain. 

ABAK. 

Greatly rejoiced my mother dear and I 
To hear the tidings of thy messenger, 
And scarce have slept for very joy, that 

thou 
Wast safe from all the dangers that beset 
Thy path among such deadly foes. 

Thou com'st. 
And with a daughter's loving tenderness 



100 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

And overflowing sympathy, with what 
I deemed thy great, full joy at this that 

shall 
Exalt thee over Gilead, I haste 
To meet thee with a gladdened step. 

Not one 
Embrace! no father's fond, warm kiss! 

nor one 
Sweet word of loving welcome ! O ! not 

e'en 
A look! O! father, what means this? 

When thou 
Hast come from off the hills with all 

thine armed 
Men proudly at thy back, with valor 

flushed, 
Thou 'st bade me to thy arms, as if 

'twere joy 
Beyond the battle's victory, to clasp 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 10 



9 



Thy child again. But now, thou heed'st 
me not! . 

JEPKTKAK. 

* 

My daughter, thou hast brought me very 
low. 

ADAH. 

I, father! 

JEPKTKAK. 

Thou 'rt one of them that trouble me. 

ABAK. 

What have I Qone ? Thou dost not hate 

me now? 
It can not be! Thou lov'st me, father? 

Say 
But that, and I can bear it all ! 



110 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 
JEPHTHAK. 

Love tliee, 
My precious child! — yea, better than 
my Hfe. 

* ADAH. 

I knew 't was so, yet thou didst look so 

cold; 
Had no kind word of greeting for mine 

ear — 
I have done naught to anger thee? 

JEPKTKAK. 

Nay, nay — 
Thou never didst, my own sweet child. 

Thou gav'st 
Me never slightest cause for grief, till now. 

ADAH. 

Why now? Pray tell me all. Strong 
in thy love, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. Ill 



And in the sweet assurance of such 

cheering words, 
I 'm ready for the worst. Fear not for 

me. 
'Twere better over. Let the pang, I 

pray, be short. 

JEPHTHAK. 

IVe opened to the Lord my mouth; I 

can 
Not now go back 

ADAH. 

My father, if unto the Lord, thy God, 
Thou 'st opened thy mouth, do unto me 
According to the vow thy Hps have made, 
For on our enemies, the Ammonites, 
His vengeance hath he taken by thy 
hand. 



112 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 
JEPKTKAK. 

My child, thou break'st my heart! 

ADAH. 

Nay, father, nay — 
My disobedience and disregard 
Of all Jehovah's laws would break thy 

heart. 
Do I not owe to thee my life? And 

should 
That life be dearer to me than the 

right ? 
Than Jephthah's full approval of his 

God? 
I 'm Jephthah's child, his only one, and 

should 
Men say in Israel: "She did defy 
The law, mocked at her father's words; 

set them 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 11 



3 



At naught ? " That were far worse than 

death, for God, 
Thy God, hath armed thy right hand 

with His power; — 
Hath smote thine enemies before thy 

face, 
E'en as thou asked. And now, shall we 

withhold 
That which thy lips did promise unto 

Him ? 
We dare not mock Him thus: a jealous 

God 
He is, and the iniquity of him 
That doeth wrong shall be (thou know'st 

the law) 
Upon his children surely visited. 
I could not then escape. 'T is not so 

great 

A sacrifice. 
8 



114 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 
JEPHTKAK. 

O! say not so! My all, 
And nothing else. O, reckless vow! 

O, wild 
Ambition to be first, where I have been 
Spurned and insulted! Mad desire to 

show 
Jehovah's power in me; that He ap- 
proved 
The banished brother, unacknowledged 

son! 
Pride! pride! the great archangel's 

damning sin, 
That drove him out of Paradise! Ah, 

me! 
My punishment, like Cain's, is more 

than I 
Can bear. He slew his brother, only; I 
Must kill my child. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 11 



5 



■ ADAH. 

Not thus did Job bewail 
His children slain, his wealth all rifled 

in 
An hour. Not thus did faithful Abra- 
ham, 
When God, to try his f^ith, commanded 

him /^ 
To take his only son, the promised seed, 
To lone Moriah's steep, and ofi'er him 
Upon its heights, a smoking sacrifice. 
Yea, father, in Jehovah, God, trust now 
As thou hast ever done: He doeth right. 

JEPHTKAK. 

I thank thee for those words. 'T is the 

one drop 
That 's pleasant in this cup of bitterness, 
That hopeful thought of holy Abraham. 



Il6 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

God did provide the lamb: He may 
again. 

ADAH. 

Nay, nay, I meant not that — only that 

he 
Did not bewail or hesitate, when God 
Commanded him to take his only son, 
The promised seed, in whom all nations 

should 
Be blessed, and bind him to the ready 

pile. 
I had forgot the rest. 

JEPKTKAK. 

And so should T. 
Daughter, I am rebuked. God did but 

try 
His faith. I must be punished for my 

sin. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 11 



7 



For that desire of exaltation, so intense 
That it forgot all else. 

(Adah makes no reply, J)ut stands with one hand over 
her eyes, her hea^d bent down in a thoughtful atti- 
tude. Jephthah noticing it, and seeing she makes 
no reply to ivhat he has said, gloomily continues, 
as if to hiinself.) 

I wonder not she has no word for me. 

ADAH. 

I have; I have. What askest thou? 

My mind 
Was buried in its thoughts. 

JEPHTHAH. 

And I would ask 
What were those thoughts? 

ADAH. 

Of death, of leaving thee, 
My mother, all I love; to be no more. 



116 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Oi the dark grave, and what a contrast 

in 
My early youth to lay me down within 
Its narrow walls, shut from the glorious 

light 
Of heaven; and for companionship, 

instead 
Of thee and her, the greedy, gloating 

worm. 

JEPMTKAH, (lueeping.) 

Go on. 

ADAH. 

The shivering cold for warmth, darkness 
For light, silence for pleasant sounds, 

these limbs. 
Rigid and still, instead of airy life's 
Quick, varied movements; and drear 

loneliness 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 11 



9 



For most beloved companionship. Yet 

think 
Not that I shrink, appalHng though it 

be— 
Right must be done^ whateer the cost to me, 
I have no fear; Hke Job, I, too, can say, 
"Though worms devour this skin of 

mine, yet in 
My flesh shall I see God." Father, thy 

vow 
Must be fulfilled! Yet make I one 

request. 



JEPKTMAK. 

Thou couldst ask nothing that I would 
not grant. 

ADAK. 

Give me, I pray thee, two short months, 
in which 



120 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

I may prepare me for my fate. Thou 

know'st 
What was to be. I did look forward to 
The time, my height of joy should be 

to make 
Another happy, and I thought too 

much. 
It may be, of the bliss that should be 

mine 
When yet another should dwell in our 

home, 
Alike beloved by her and thee and me, 
And sons and daughters should be born 

to thee 
In place of those Jehovah had denied 
To thine own wedlock. No sweet, 

cherub lip. 
Pressed close to mine, shall ever call 

me by 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 121 

That dearest name that woman ever 

bore. 
I '11 not repine; my grief is not my own : 
'T is thine^ and hers^ and his. O, God! 

for hhn — 

JKPKTKAM. 

My daughter, Adah, wilt thou break 
my heart? 

ADAK. 

Nay, father, nay; but I do think of 

him, — 
Eber, in all his young and joyous years 
Doomed to be desolate; to bear a heart 
Widowed, bereaved, just as he enters on 
Life's opening threshhold; his bright 

morning sky 
Beclouded ere life's sun had fairly risen. 



122 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Thou wilt console him; let him be to 

thee 
E'en as he would have been, although 

no bride 
His yearning heart find here. Thou 'It 

promise this? 

JEPKTKAK. 

I promise all. Say on. Ask what thou 
wilt. 

ABAK, 

My mother loves me, father. O ! how 

can 
She bear to be alone? Her child reft 

from 
Her arms, and none to dwell with her: 

alone ! 
Oh! comfort her. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 12 



3 



JEPHTKAK. 

And who shall comfort me? 
Thou think'st of all, of every one but 

me. 
Hast thou no love for me? Shall / not, 

too, 
Be left alone? Will not my home be 

dark? — 
My heart be desolate ? Hast thou no 

love 
For me^ my child ? 

ADAK. 

Ah, yes, too much for all. 
Forgive me if T thought of others first, 
Each is so dear; it is so hard to feel 
I can no longer have a place among 
Ye all; can come no more with heart 
so full 



124 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Of gushing love, to cheer in sorrow, 

soothe 
In suffering hours, and be a part of all, 
In joy or grief. 

JEPHTHAH. 

Look, Adah; there she comes! 
How shall I meet her? Oh! how break 
To her this woe? 

ADAH. 

I will away, I can 
Not meet her now. Thy blessing, once 

more. 
Father, on thine Adah's head. 

(She kneels. He places his hand on her head. Telah 
comes in full vieiv, as he does it, and the curtain 
drops.) 

Sni) or Scene Fourth. 




J/Lourrhing over the Q-rai 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 12^ 



^rpnp fiUl 



"And the dauffhters of Israel went out, four days in the year, lo 
mourn and lament for her." 

Scene— the Tnountain, luith trees and rochs. A green 
mound, under which are the remains of Jeph- 
thah's daughter. To one side, and partially hid- 
den, is Eher, the betrothed of Adah, bowed under 
a covering of sackcloth. From the opposite side 
of the stage advance six maidens, clad ijv ivhite 
robes, candying baskets of floivers, and singing as 
they come. 

MAIDENS. 
SONG. 

Here we come, a band of maidens, 
To these lonely rocks and glades; 

Bright the blue sky bends above us. 
Cool and green, the leafy shades. 



26 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



Come we here to mourn a lost one, 
Loved and lost one to bewail: 

Fitting spot for lamentation 
O'er our lost one of the vale. 

It was here she was lamenting, 

Till two moons had paled and gone, 

Gaining strength, and faith, and courage, 
In these solitudes, alone. 

On the mountain, where she perished, 
Where she spent those lonely days. 

Every year we come to mourn her, 
Come, this noble maid to praise. 

(They discover Eber sitting on the far side of the 
mound. He slowly raises the sadccloth froiy% his 
face, and they see who it is. A maiden speaks.) 

MAIDEN. 

Comest thou here to mourn and weep, 
Eber? Worthy was she that's here 
Beneath this lonely mound. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 12 



7 



Ye come 
But once a year, for she was naught 
To you but a sweet friend. To me 
My sun, my life — my every thing; 
And I come — when, I scarcely know, 
Nor, yet, how long I stay. There is 
No joy remaining, now, save here 
To bow by this green mound and 

feel 
I shall be with her soon. How long! 
How long ! Oh, cruel vow ! Was 

He, 
The God of mercy, pleased with such 
A sacrifice? 

MAIDEN 

Eber, thou griev'st 
As one that hath no hope. 



120 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

Grief is 
No name for all the pangs I feel; 
For, with such love as I have borne, 
'T is the survivor dies. Long woe. 
With ecstasy of torture, kills 
At last — but O! how long. No death 
The dying hath, like unto that 
The living feels, to wander on 
Alone; of all earth's joys bereft — 
Its glorious sun extind;; life's light 
To darkness turned, and all its flowers 
To noxious weeds; the poor, numb soul, 
Unknowing when 't is change of day. 
Or night, or seasons, e'en. The crushed, 
Torn heart-strings, rent away from all 
About which twined their joy. 
Lie trampled, bleeding, thrilled with 
pain, 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



129 



And yet there 's no desire to take 
Them up, and soothe, and nurse them 

back 
To ease, and strength, and life again. 
The once glad, joyous heart, bound- 
ing 
In youthful gladsomeness, crushed down, 
A heavy lead-like thing within 
The bosom's core, which ne'er again 
Uplifts itself, but slowly wears 
Its lingering tenement away. 
Mourning a form that hath none, 

and 
A voice it can not hear. 

(He sloivly moves aivay.) 

(Six voices chanting separ^ately , as numhered.) 

FIRST VOICE. 

Joy beamed in her eye as she went forth 

to meet him. 
9 



IQO JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



SECOND VOICE. 

Skill born of her gladness brought mirth 
from the tabret. 

THIRD VOICE. 

Fleet moved her light steps in the joy 
of his coming. 

FOURTH VOICE. 

She met him; her eye beamed no longer 
in brightness. 

FIFTH VOICE. 

Dropped quickly her fingers, forgetting 
their cunning. 

SIXTH VOICE. 

And stayed were the steps that had 
bounded in gladness. 

FIRST VOICE, 

But paled not the cheek of the maid as 
she listened. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 1^1 



SECOND VOICE. 

Her people were saved — she was ready- 
to perish. 

THIRD VOICE. 

Meek, bent the young head m its quiet 
submission. 

FOURTH VOICE. 

O ! daughter of Jephthah, most worthy 
of honor. 

FIFTH VOICE. 

Nor daughter of Jephthah alone, but 
of Israel. 

SIXTH VOICE. 

A nation laments while its maids are 
bewailing. 

ALL. 

And the tribes of the earth, through all 
time, shall thee honor. 



1^2 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

SONG. 

Daughter, in thy narrow bed, 
Sister, from whom life hath fled, 
Jewish maiden, o'er thy head. 
Loving hands deHght to fling 
Sweetest blossoms of the spring 
Nature's holy offering. 

(They scatter flowers upon the mound from their 
bashets, and continue to do it, from time to time, 
through the song.) 

Jewish maiden, virtues rare 

Made thee e'en more good, than fair; 

Pure as ever maidens are; 

Meekly bent her drooping head. 

Every thought of self had fled — 

" Father, be 't as thou hast said.' 

Other daughters have been good. 
But, among them, she hath stood 
Crown of virgin womanhood. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. IQO 



Round this mound sad hearts await, 
Here to weep thine early fate, 
And thy goodness emulate. 

Jewish maiden! fair and young, 
Ever shall thy praise be sung, 
All the maids of earth among. 
Purity beamed in thine eye — 
All the virtues that could die 
Wafted thy pure soul on high. 

(Six voices chanting, each a separate sentiment.) 
FIRST VOICE. 

Whose heart was so strong as this beauti- 
ful maid's? 

SECOND VOICE. 

Whose filial devotion so perfect and 
pure? 

THIRD VOICE. 

No son of Judea was like unto her. 



34 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



FOURTH VOICE. 

Who '11 teach us our duty now she lieth 
low? 

FIFTH VOICE. 

The maidens of Israel are poor in her 
loss. 

SIXTH VOICE. 

The God of our fathers make us, even 
us, 

ALL. 

Like unto the maiden we come to 
bewail. 

SONG. 

Woe ! for the vow that the warrior made, 
The warrior and father, that Ammon be 

stayed. 
And his country be freed from the grasp 

of the foe. 



xTEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 1 



35 



Who the altars of God in the valleys 
laid low. 

Bereaved is a household — one heart is a 

wreck, 
Which thought for the bridal, its treasure 

to deck; 
Her life is aweary, uncheered, and 

alone, 
There beameth no future when hope is 

unknown. 

Sleep sweetly, pure maiden, disturbed 
by no fears. 

We '11 keep the turf green by our sor- 
rowing tears, 

And the blossoms we bring thee, renew 
when they fade. 

Lamenting, bewailing thee, beautiful 
maid. 



^6 



l<qb JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTBR. 

SONG. 

(With voices alternating.) 
ONE VOICE. 

He that sleeps, shall wake no more. 

ALL. 

Yes, upon the morrow. 

ONE VOICE. 

Years, the dead can not restore. 

ALL. 

But they ease our sorrow. 

ONE VOICE. 

All must die, though live they would- 

ALL. 

Every life 's a debtor. 

ONE VOICE. 

Weeping, mourning, do no good, — 

ALL. 

Sadness maketh better. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 1 



37 



ONE VOICE. 

It is sad to mourn and weep. 

ALL. 

Sad, and yet a pleasure. 

ONE VOICE. 

Let each sorrowing memory sleep. 

ALL. 

Memory is a treasure. 
Memories of the pure and good 

Make our own hearts better. 
This pure maiden, if we could. 

We would not forget her. 

SONG. 

They met, and proud Ammon was con- 
quered at last. 

And the tramp of his warriors went 
hurrying past; 



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JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



His towns and his cities were swept from 

his hands, 
And the conquered oppressor hath sought 

other lands. 

There 's a chieftain in Israel, once haughty 
and bold, 

But the light, in his dark eye, is altered 
and cold; 

There 's a Judge, too, in Israel, loves jus- 
tice and right. 

But the honors, they pay him, can bring 
no delight. 

He knoweth the price of proud Ammon's 

defeat. 
For a face is upturning, so pleadingly 

sweet; 
'T is the picture that 's ever his vision 

before. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 1^ 



9 



And 'twill fade from his sight, never- 
more, nevermore. 

There 's a memory, haunting, will never 
depart, 

And the sweet light of hope is shut out 
of his heart. 

He is ruler, he's judge, but he's child- 
less and lone. 

For her life was the price of the vidories 
won. 



SONG. 

( With alternate voices, one alone, and all answering.) 

ONE VOICE. 

Sing of all that 's good and fair, 

ALL. 

She was better fairer: 



140 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 
ONE VOICE. 

Sing of all that 's bright and rare, 

ALL. 

She was brighter, rarer. 

ONE VOICE. 

Liken her to earth's flower-queen, 

ALL. 

Lily of the valley. 

ONE VOICE. 

Breathing fragrance, though unseen 

ALL. 

When the light winds dally 

ONE VOICE. 

Liken her to brighter flowers, 

ALL. 

Sharon's precious roses. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. I4I 
ONE VOICE. 

Making glad the passing hours 

ALL. 

As each cup uncloses. 

ONE VOICE. 

Liken her to stars of night; 

ALL. 

They're too far above us; 

ONE VOICE. 

They are pure, and they are bright, 

ALL. 

But they can not love us. 

ONE VOICE. 

Liken her to all pure things; 



142 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 

ALL. 

Snow upon the mountain; 
Dewdrops, snow, and flowers and 
springs; 
Water from the fountain. 

Yet is naught so pure and bright, 

As this peerless daughter, 
Turning meekly from the light 

To the dark doom brought her. 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. I43 

CLOSING SONG. 

(One Voice.) 

Her life bought our freedom, 

For the nation paid; 
Israel can but honor 

This devoted maid. 

Prophet's hymning, tender, 

Ready writer's praise, 
Ever shall commend her, 

Through all lapse of days. 

And though Israel perish. 
Prophet, priest, and king. 

Yet the world shall cherish 
Her of whom we sing. 

Distant times and sages 

Shall her fame rehearse. 
Ages upon ages 

Weave it into verse. 



144 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER. 



And no brighter luster 
Ever deed surround, 

Never mem'ry juster, 

Through all time be found. 

All the w^orld shall claim her, 
Like the sun and showers, 

Though we love to name her 
Israel's and ours. 

,^N» or §CEN]e ^IFTK. 



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